4 homeless after unattended stove goes up in flames
A mother and her three children are now homeless after their Number 60 Village, Corentyne, Berbice home went up in flames.
The woman had to be thrown through a window after being trapped in the burning building and passed out.
Hemwattie Brijbhukan was asleep and her children ages four, seven and 11 were at school on Tuesday afternoon when the fire started.
The unemployed single mother had been living in the two-bedroom upper flat house for the past seven years.
She said she had taken medication and felt drowsy but still attempted to cook.
Hemwattie Brijbhukan and her three children, who have lost their home to fire
“Me get up by 1 O’clock and put on the rice pot and I starting drowsy because I had drink the B co. I went back to sleep and like the stove catch afire because the pot overheat.”
The woman said it was two of her cousins saved her after breaking in from a back window of the house.
“They dash me out and two other persons catch me but I don’t know is who because the smoke had stifled me… They carried me over by my mother’s house an told me what happened.”
“When I wake up in the house I was not seeking any fire, it was black smoke because we have plenty things in the house and three thick mattress, that is what caused the smoke so much. I couldn’t out it because it was already big, reaching the rooftop already,” she explained.
The aftermath of the fire
The single mother, who survives on the money her husband pays for the maintenance of his children through the court, said she has lost everything she had which includes a washing machine, appliances, clothing and jewellery.
The plot of land Brijbhukan lived on is unregularised. Nevertheless, the woman is seeking the public’s assistance.
“My next move if I get anybody to help me to get back a house or even things for the kids, I will appreciate that.”
She can be contacted by telephone number (592) 615-0347. (G4)
